“The Trade Tower design – the one referred to as able to resist the crash of a Boeing 707 – specified the use of asbestos insulation on the supporting columns,” said chemistry professor Art Robinson.

“This was used on all columns up to the 64th floors. Then, however, in 1971 when the Trade Center Towers were still under construction, New York City banned this use of asbestos,” Robinson, who is also a founder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, said.

“Asbestos was an early victim of junk science and enviro-fear propaganda,” Robinson said. Environmental activists “were joined by opportunistic lawyers and businessmen who reaped large profits from the anti-asbestos program. There was not a shred of evidence that insulating buildings with asbestos was harmful to human health,” he added.